1. Field of the invention.
The present invention relates to cigarettes and more particularly to a liquid filled insert surrounded by the tobacco of a cigarette for extinguishing the cigarette fire cone
As is well known, carelessly discarding burning cigarettes many times results in fire destroying homes, forests, grasslands and other property as well as human and wildlife. To prevent such fires the cigarette must be extinguished before it leaves the smoker's hand. This invention provides an insert for cigarettes which will immediately extinguish the fire of a burning cigarette, within three seconds, by the smokers's action of squeezing the cigarette adjacent the filter end prior to discarding it in any manner. This extinguishing action also eliminates the odor of a smoldering cigarette left in ashtrays and further will extinguish the cigarette fire cone in the event it is discarded without the smoker ejecting the fire extinguishing liquid.
2. Description of the prior art
Prior patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 1,726,737 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,461, generally disclose a liquid containing bulb-like member which is inserted into the tobacco of a cigarette, or the like, adjacent the mouth end for the purposes of rupturing the bulb member to extinguish the fire of the cigarette, as in U.S. Pat. No. 1,726,737, or for moisturizing the tobacco, as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,461, to form a smoke filtering zone while the article is being smoked.
Other Patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,756,249 and 3,863,644, disclose disposing at least one elongated open end tube axially within a smokable article between the ends thereof for admitting air to the smoke stream while the article is being smoked.
This invention is distinctive over these patents and the disclosure of my copending application by axially disposing a generally cylindrical reservoir containing a quantity of liquid, such as water, within the cigarette adjacent the filter or mouth end, axially connected with an elongated small diameter tube projecting through the cigarette to its other end. The wall portion of the reservoir, joined to the elongated tube, is relatively thin when compared to the thickness of the remaining reservoir wall so that this thin wall portion is ruptured by pressure manually applied to the portion of the cigarette surrounding the reservoir for extinguishing the fire prior to discarding the cigarette butt.